7/13 Cards (Lynn) at Cubs (Garza) now, FOX

[Illini Iceman]

McCarver citing that Baez is a better shortstop than Castro due to Castro's prior error totals. Lol. If that's the criteria, take a yonder at Javy's error totals.

 

Yeah, and apparently the Cubs should look to move Castro to the OF to make room.

 

And they could not be rooting harder for the Cardinals to score this inning.

 

They definitely suck so I am not defending them but in general in these national games they tend to always talk up the team trailing and make it seem like they are on the verge of making a comeback. It is more about keeping the audience engaged than them pulling for one team or the other.

 

I know trading Garza now is the right thing to do but it would be nice to have him in the rotation for a few more years. They guy is a really solid pitcher.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, it might be unfair to this reliever to compare him to Pedro [expletive] Martinez, you stupid sacks of [expletive].

[Andy]

Wait, Chris Carpenter still exists?

You can't rule out a St. Louis player until he's dead. And even then nothing would totally shock me.

[SABR Gamer]

It's very annoying that Anthony Rizzo only has 5 more home runs than Luis Valbuena at the all-star break, even with 100+ more at bats.

 

ETA: Love that Luis has turned into a solid player, but Rizzo has been disappointing.

 

Focus then on Rizzo having 15 more doubles.

 

And, no, I'll continue to say Rizzo has not been disappointing. He's been real solid.

 

Okay, well he can be both solid (which I agree he has been), and disappointing. He is on pace for a little under a 3 WAR, which is solid (like you said), but my expectations for him were a good bit higher, so I am pretty disappointed.

 

He also is playing at a lower WAR pace than last season. So again, regression = disappointment. I was looking for a 4+ win season, not a 2.7 win season.

 

I am encouraged by his increased walk rate and the fact that his Ks are near what they were at last year. I don't like that his LD% has gone down a lot, so has his HR/FB (though he is hitting more FB in general).

 

His BABIP is lower than it should be, so hopefully his numbers start to naturally go back up, but I still think that his season has been disappointing so far when considering everything.

 

Here's to hoping he has a big second half and eliminates the concern.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Wait, Chris Carpenter still exists?

You can't rule out a St. Louis player until he's dead. And even then nothing would totally shock me.

 

Rumor has it Darryl Kile is training for a comeback

[Illini Iceman]

Great I have lost my coverage in Florida to get the stinking George Zimmerman verdict.

[d_money]

Wait, Chris Carpenter still exists?

You can't rule out a St. Louis player until he's dead. And even then nothing would totally shock me.

 

Rumor has it Darryl Kile is training for a comeback

Josh Hancock

[Schwarber Fan]

STRIKES, PARKER

[Careless]

:banghead:

[Schwarber Fan]

Wow, Borbon. Seriously?

[TruffleShuffle]

borbon is seriously worthless.

[Schwarber Fan]

I hate the assumption that every guy on the Cubs worth a crap is for sale.

[Illini Iceman]

Is there a reason Fox uses Pitch Trax constantly on their local coverage but hardly ever on the Game of the Week? Seems to me the Cubs are getting screwed left and right on strike calls.

[InconspicuousZ28]

That was strike 3.

[Guest]

get lost, blue

[TruffleShuffle]

this umpire should be put in a gulag.

[Guest]

http://i.imgur.com/VeIqzuy.png

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Wally Bell has been beyond terrible.

[TruffleShuffle]

http://i.imgur.com/VeIqzuy.png

 

when people are calling for umpire accountability and robot umps this is the [expletive] they're talking about.

[Gilby]

Seems like MLB umpires should be better at not calling balls and strikes based on what the catcher does.

[Illini Iceman]

I think the 3-2 pitch to that batter before Molina was also a strike.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

It's very annoying that Anthony Rizzo only has 5 more home runs than Luis Valbuena at the all-star break, even with 100+ more at bats.

 

ETA: Love that Luis has turned into a solid player, but Rizzo has been disappointing.

 

Focus then on Rizzo having 15 more doubles.

 

And, no, I'll continue to say Rizzo has not been disappointing. He's been real solid.

 

Okay, well he can be both solid (which I agree he has been), and disappointing. He is on pace for a little under a 3 WAR, which is solid (like you said), but my expectations for him were a good bit higher, so I am pretty disappointed.

 

He also is playing at a lower WAR pace than last season. So again, regression = disappointment. I was looking for a 4+ win season, not a 2.7 win season.

 

I am encouraged by his increased walk rate and the fact that his Ks are near what they were at last year. I don't like that his LD% has gone down a lot, so has his HR/FB (though he is hitting more FB in general).

 

His BABIP is lower than it should be, so hopefully his numbers start to naturally go back up, but I still think that his season has been disappointing so far when considering everything.

 

Here's to hoping he has a big second half and eliminates the concern.

 

Quality stuff.

 

I guess I entered the season coming at it a bit differently. I wasn't expecting huge numbers, but rather I just wanted to see a guy who clearly can be a fixture at his position for us in the future.

 

Now, as he fully matures and develops I believe he can turn into a legitimate star. For his (mostly) age 23 season, the fact that he has 13 homers, 27 doubles and two triples and that he's shown an ability to take walks and play solid defense leaves me far more encouraged than disappointed. Heck, there are some big-time stars who weren't even in the Majors at this point in their career.

 

But, like you, here's hoping for an even bigger final 70 games.

[Careless]

Seems like MLB umpires should be better at not calling balls and strikes based on what the catcher does.

What, you think you can find talent when you're only paying a bit under $200k for someone to work 8 months a year, minus only four weeks of paid vacation during the season? You think they'd have anyone left if they fired people more often than once every 25 years?

[Guest]

I know the results have been bad so far, but I really like Borbon as a 5th outfielder.

[Sammy Sofa]

Holly Hell, do Tim and Joe want to run down there and personally fan Molina and give him a rubdown to make sure he's OK?